Page 16 of articles about manure

The changes included in the National Action Programme (NAP) under the Nitrates Directive, agreed between the Government and the EU Commission are positive for both Irish farming and the environment.

Jim Paice, Minister of State for Agriculture, today announced funding of £12.6 million, from Defra and the Devolved Administrations, to improve our understanding of how UK agriculture contributes to climate change.

Copper and zinc are routinely used as additives in feed for livestock and aquaculture farming. During their use as feed additives, it is inevitable that Cu and Zn will be released to the environment. Under Regulation (EC) 1831/3003 (EC, 2003), in order to protect human health, animal health and the environment, feed additives should undergo a safety assessment through a Community procedure before being placed on the market, used or processed within the Community. This project therefore assessed the environmental impact of Cu and Zn arising from use as additives in feed for livestock and aquaculture animals.

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Biological Hazards was asked to deliver a scientific opinion on Lime Treatment of Solid Pig and Poultry Manure. A European association submitted a novel process and asked the European Commission to approve it as a safe means of disposal under Article 5 (2) (g) of Regulation 1774/2002/EC, i.e. as far as Category 2 material are concerned. The European Commission asked EFSA to i) assess the ability of the process submitted to safely dispose of Category 2 animal by-products and ii) in case the process is considered to present a risk, to advice on the risks of the use of that process and on possibilities for addressing them. After an information exchange with the applicant it was clarified that the terms of reference of the mandate were focused only on pig and poultry solid manure treatment and that the solid pig manure consisted of dewatered manure.

Teagasc has proposed twenty-one amendments to the Draft European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) regulation 2010 as part of the consultation process to review the nitrates regulations. The detailed 120-page scientific document has been submitted to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The Spanish Minister of Agriculture has presented the software ECOGAN, an application for the estimation of emissions and consumption of resources in farms.

79% of holdings with outdoor pigs use a site rotation system with an average of 17 months being spent in a paddock before rotation.

The NVZ boundary was revised in May 2010 as a result of appeals by farmers against the decision to designate land within an NVZ.

The oversupply of manure from Dutch livestock farms is rising as a result of stricter environmental regulations. To solve this problem without manure export or technological innovations, the number of livestock will have to be reduced by twenty percent before 2020, reports the Agricultural Economics Research Institute (LEI).

Businesses and local authorities are being offered help to turn food, farm and other organic waste into energy and fuel.

Wageningen UR's Swine Research Farm at Sterksel is to carry out research into carbon neutral pig farming using a mini-biogas plant. The Productschap Vee en Vlees (Cattle and Meat Marketing Board) will invest 170 thousand euros in a low-cost prototype design.